Palantir defends its record as MPs demand more scrutiny of data use

The UK boss of Palantir has defended the company over calls for more scrutiny of its use of data within NHS contracts.

There has been a backlash against guidance sent to every trust in NHS England, which states they should all be using Palantir's "core products" in hospitals from this month, according to the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

Last week Labour MP Emily Darlington told the BBC that having a "foreign tech company" involved with patient data in the NHS was "a major security risk".

The Liberal Democrats have said Palantir "should be nowhere near our national security infrastructure", while Green Party leader Zack Polanski labelled the firm "a military surveillance company".

Conservative MP Wendy Morton has also called for more scrutiny of the US tech company's "ability to protect data".

The US-headquartered analytics company won a £300m contract with NHS England for its Foundry "federated data platform" (FDP) at the end of 2023, which will be up for renewal at the start of next year.

The FDP software is designed to link up otherwise-incompatible databases, fixing an issue that has hampered the NHS, where unrelated IT systems are used in different locations, such as a patient's GP, clinic and hospital.

Palantir argues its software allows access, integration and analysis of those databases for things like waiting lists, hospital supplies, and available beds and operating theatres.

Appearing on the BBC's Politics Live, Palantir UK executive vice-chair Louis Mosley said he welcomed the scrutiny and was confident the firm was "delivering for patients".

"I think those of us who use the NHS, the lived experience is one of disconnected, fragmented systems, explaining who you are to a different person on every ward, at the front desk," he said.

"Joining up that information is what we are doing for the NHS."

Mosley said Palantir software was delivering value for money and brushed off fears around data security, saying "we have no interest in patient data in the UK".

"It's not our business model," he added. "It's not the legal basis on which we operate, in the same way that Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Word or email is used in the NHS and again that is NHS data, Microsoft doesn't have access to it, nor do we to NHS data."

Labour MP Alex McIntyre, who sits on the Commons Health and Social Care select committee, defended Palantir's involvement in NHS contracts.

"We've been really clear, we have red lines here, the data must stay in the UK, it must be NHS owned," he told the programme.

"That is really clear, and we've been really clear that Palantir in any provider doesn't have access or cannot share patient data for their own use."

However, critics point to , leading to allegations around surveillance, its contracts with the Israeli Defence Force, and its owner Peter Thiel being a major donor to Donald Trump's presidential campaign.